


Nightmares

by HappyHealthyNerdy



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: DaddyBats, Eventual Fluff, First work on this website, Hurt Wally, Protective Flash, hurt dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-01-28 04:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12598644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyHealthyNerdy/pseuds/HappyHealthyNerdy
Summary: An enemy is out for revenge against Batman and the rest of the Justice League. However, his victims aren't the Justice League but two of the sidekicks. Can Robin and Kid Flash survive the villain who attacks them inside their own minds? (This is also posted on FF.Net)





	1. Revenge

The cave was silent. Aqualad and Artemis were spending the night at their respective homes, taking a day away from the superhero world. Miss Martian and Superboy were out on a training mission, leaving all but two rooms at the cave vacant. The two room’s occupants, Robin and Kid Flash, were dead to the world and enjoying their uninterrupted sleep.

They had spent their day in a joint training session directed by the Flash and Batman. On their own, each mentor was relentless taskmaster who wouldn’t allow their students to stop until the task had been completed. Together, they created a training session that would be difficult for most of the league. Their students were pushed to their limits, learning to adapt and push past all exhaustion. By the end of the day Robin and Kid Flash had no desire to make the journeys back home.

Through a mixture of manipulation, begging, and puppy-dog eyes (from the boy wonder) the boys managed to convince their mentors to let them stay the night in the cave. While the Flash and Batman were reluctant leave the boys alone in the cave (Black Canary and Red Tornado had league business to attend to and wouldn’t be in the cave that night) they knew the boys were exhausted enough that they wouldn’t cause trouble. Once the boys were free of their mentors they raided the kitchen and plopped down on the couch. They played video games, watched movies, and spied on the league until they could no longer keep their eyes open. 

They parted way for the night and made their ways to their respective rooms. Kid Flash collapsed onto his bed and immediately fell asleep, not bothering to remove his costume. Robin took the time to take off his costume, but left his mask on. While Kid Flash did know his secret identity Batman didn’t know that, so Robin slept with his mask on.

Robin and Kid Flash’s sleep was deeper than usual because of their hard training. They both felt safe knowing the other was nearby and the mountain was nearly impenetrable. These factors led the boys to sleep deeply enough that they would be unawaken by anything short of a bomb. For this reason, neither of the boys would have aware of the man sneaking into the mountain, even if he had made noise.

The man walked down the halls towards Kid Flash’s and Robin’s rooms, making no noise except for the faint sound of his breathing. He reached Robin’s door first.

Robin bolted up, not knowing what had woken him but knowing that something wasn’t right. He couldn’t see anything amiss in his room, everything was as he left it. He pulled his utility belt off the nightstand and put it around his waist. Better paranoid than dead, as Batman said. Robin slowly got out of bed and walked towards the door, intending to wake Kid Flash and check the rest of the mountain. Every instinct Batman had drilled into him was telling him that something was wrong. 

He heard something creek behind him and he spun to face it, batarang in hand. Nothing was in the corner. He lowered the batarang and an arm was thrown around his chest as a cloth was held to his face. Robin held his breath, knowing he didn’t want to breathe in whatever was on that cloth, and struggled against the man holding him.

The man was strong, strong enough Robin couldn’t break his hold. The man quickly jabbed his fist into Robin’s stomach, forcing all air out. Against his will, Robin took a breath and that breath was his undoing. The chemical worked his way through his system rendering him limp and unconscious in the man’s hold.

The man dropped Robin, smirking. He exited the room, knowing he only had one boy left.

YJYJYJYJYJ

As soon as Kid Flash heard something hit the floor, he was out of bed and moving. In his sleep muddled state it took him a millisecond to realize he had slammed into the door and was now sitting on the floor. He got back to his feet and wondered why the door wasn’t opening. He stepped back, preparing to kick the door down when he smelt something.

Kid Flash paused, taking another breath to try and determine what the scent was. Too late he realized it was a gas and while it wasn’t any gas he knew of, he could feel its effects beginning. He held his breath but it was too late, his vision was fading and he felt his knees give out. He tried his best to remain awake, moving his body as much as he could to try and force the gas out of his system. However, his efforts were all in vain. He could hear more gas being pumped into the room and seconds later the world around him disappeared as he succumbed to sleep.

Outside the door, the man smirked. His plan was going perfectly. The two sidekicks were out, and now his work could begin. Although his original target was Robin, he wasn’t going to turn down the other sidekick that was practically giftwrapped for him. 

The man slowly walked out of the cave singing under his breath, “Are you hungry? Are you thirsty?”


	2. Discovered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Destiny's attack on the sidekicks is discovered.

As soon as Black Canary arrived in the mountain, she knew something was wrong. This instinct, created out of years of being a crime fighter, led her to slowly creep into the mountain and check every corner for anything out of place.

There was nothing, but that didn’t make her feel any less anxious. The only hallway she had yet to check was the one housing Robin and Kid Flash. She ran to the hallway and slowly checked each room leading to Robin in Kid Flash’s. Their rooms were the last two rooms at the end of the hall and by the time she reached them she was beginning to believe she was just being paranoid. She no longer felt paranoid when Robin’s door wouldn’t open more than an inch before ramming into something.

She forced the door open, eyes scanning the room for Robin and finally spotting him as what had been preventing the door from opening. He had no obvious injuries and his pulse was slow and steady and he was breathing fine. It seemed as if he was only asleep. However Black Canary knew no one, especially not a Bat, slept deeply enough to not wake when a door was slammed into them.

With Robin in a seemingly stable condition she carefully made her way to Kid Flash’s room. She was surprised to find his door locked. She was about to put in her override code when she noticed the smell, it wasn’t the regular stink of teenage boy but the sharp stench of gas. 

“Kid Flash!” She shouted, “Kid Flash answer me!”

Black Canary knew if she could smell it, it was spreading and she needed to get herself and Robin far away. She hated to leave Kid Flash behind, but if her suspicions were correct the gas had already infected him and she needed to help herself and Robin before she could do anything for him.

She threw Robin over her shoulder and ran into the med bay, entering the code for quarantine and watching as the room was sealed. 

She placed a hand to her earpiece, “Canary to Watchtower,”

“What’s the problem?” Superman asked.

“The Mountain’s been infiltrated. I have Robin with me, but there is an unidentified gas inside Kid Flash’s room and I’ve been unable to contact him.”

“I’m sending Batman and Flash.”

“Good.”

After a moment of Silence Superman asked, “How is he?”

He didn’t need to clarify who “he” was, “He seems like he’s just sleeping. All his vitals are within normal ranges.”

Moments later the computer announced the Flash and Batman.

“Canary?” The Flash asked.

“In the Med Bay with Robin. There’s nothing visibly wrong with him.”

“We’ll contact you when the gas has been identified.” Batman stated and the headsets went silent.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Batman and Flash slowly walked towards Kid Flash’s room, Batman scanning the air as they went. Both men wore gas masks that would allow them to safely navigate the mountain.

Batman could tell by the way the Flash was vibrating that he wanted nothing more to rush to his partner, but the Flash was smarter than he led the world to believe. The Flash knew the consequences of rushing forward could be fatal to both himself and Kid Flash.

When they finally made it Kid Flash’s door Flash looked to Batman for the gas analysis.

“It’s a strong sedative.” He explained as he entered his override code, “Proceed with caution.”

The second the door was opened Flash was by his nephew’s side. He quickly checked Kid Flash’s heartrate and cursed. He reached into the snack compartment on his glove and pulled out a shot that he quickly gave to Kid Flash.

Batman watched as the Flash tried to get Kid Flash’s heartrate up, hating that he couldn’t do anything. He was the one who had manufactured the shot for the Flashes and it would increase their heartrates. However, any other help must come from the Flashes to prevent the heartrate from becoming too slow again.

When Kid Flash’s heartrate was back in a safe range Flash pulled him into his arms and ran to the Med Bay. Batman followed more slowly, setting the air filters to remove the contaminated air from the mountain. By the time he arrived at the Med Bay Robin and Kid Flash were both hooked up to the monitors and Black Canary and Flash were pouring over the security footage trying to discover who had gotten into the mountain. 

“Found him!” Black Canary exclaimed zooming in on the figure in the security footage.

“Dr. Destiny?” The Flash stated disbelievingly, “I thought you drove him insane Bats.”

“Apparently not,” Thirty seconds later he continued, studying the screen in front of him, “Dr. Destiny escaped from Bel Rev yesterday morning. Bel Rev neglected to inform us do to a crash in their servers which resulted in a power outage.”

“How did he get in?” Black Canary asked, already trying to figure out how to prevent it from happening again.

“A glitch in the Zeta tubes, Superman is already working on fixing it.”

“How long will it take you to find Dr. Destiny?” Black Canary asked softly.

With a glance at his unconscious partner he calculated the time he would need, “An hour.” 

“That’s too long!” The Flash snapped.

Batman glared, but the Flash didn’t flinch. The stare off continued until the Flash finally snapped his eyes away and went back to his nephew’s side.

Though neither Batman or Black Canary mentioned it, the Flash’s behavior worried them. The Flashes were known for their easygoing manner and their lack of a temper. However, when Kid Flash was in danger the Flash became an entirely different type of superhero. There had been very few instances where they had seen his temper in full force, but each time reminded the league how lucky they were that the Flashes weren’t villains.

Glancing again at his unconscious partner Batman recalculated how much time he would need. The Flash was right, and hour was too long.


	3. Let Them Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman and the Flash hunt down Dr. Destiny and try to convince him to let their partners go.

Wally couldn’t breathe. His heart was pounding, he was sure he was bleeding from somewhere, and he couldn’t breathe. He knew he couldn’t stop running. If he stopped running more people would die, and every one of his failures added to the pile of corpses left behind him.

Everything was on fire and he could hear people screaming, babies crying, car tires squealing as they all tried to escape the madness with their lives. But no matter how hard he ran or how desperately he searched, he couldn’t find them. He couldn’t find a single person. 

He ran into a building, trying to follow the screaming, but the smoke and heat overwhelmed his senses until everything was a blur. The building creaked dangerously, and he tried to run faster, tried to find one person, but his efforts were in vain. He wasn’t fast enough, and the building crumbled around him.

As he stared at the wreckage that was once an apartment building, part of his brain tried to figure out how this had all happened, but it was overwhelmed by his grief and the consuming feeling of failure. He hadn’t saved a single person. There were who knows how many people lying inside the rubble of the building, dead because he wasn’t fast enough. He wasn’t ever fast enough.

He heard more screaming and pulled himself to his feet, running in the direction of the cries, trying to get to them before it was once again too late. He stumbled over wreckage, and was knocked off his feet by a corpse. He had no time to stop, no time to mourn for them, no time to even think that his failure had led to there being so many bodies that he was tripping over them.

He had to run, to try and be fast enough. Even though he was never fast enough.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Barry soothingly ran his hands through his nephew's hair, trying to calm him, but it was no use. Wally was trapped in a nightmare of Dr. Destiny’s invention with no obvious way out. 

Barry looked up as Black Canary as she came back from trying to contact J’ohn.

“He’s off world and won’t be back anytime soon.”

Batman hadn’t moved when Black Canary entered, but his faster typing indicated that he had heard her and didn’t like the news any more than Barry did. Without J’ohn the boys would be forced to fight through the nightmares on their own, unless they could convince Dr. Destiny to let them go. As much as Barry hated violence he might just have to allow Batman to convince Dr. Destiny to let the boys go.

Dick was silent next to them and for that Barry was grateful. It was hard enough to see Wally in this position and adding Dick to it would only make it worse. He also had a slightly more selfish reason to be grateful, no matter how uncaring Batman could pretend to be there was no way Bruce could ignore Dick crying out in fear.

Barry anxiously ran his hand through his own hair before returning it to Wally’s. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Of all the misfortunes that could have befallen Wally, this hadn’t even been a possibility before today. Barry hadn’t thought about Dr. Destiny for years, and he was sure that the rest of the League hadn’t either. He couldn’t believe that of every threat and villains they knew Dr. Destiny was the one to hurt their sidekicks. 

The Flash took a deep breath, shoving his anger out of his mind. Anger didn’t solve anything, he told himself, anger didn’t solve anything. He had to continually remind himself that; despite the fact Dr. Destiny had gone after Wally, he had to control himself. He knew that vengeance was a terrible thing that destroyed lives. 

The ding of the computer was deafening, and the Flash quickly moved to Batman’s side. He memorized the coordinates displayed and was off, pulling his cowl on his head as he ran. 

He had tried to keep his anger in check, but with every step he took it rose out of the box he had shoved it into. Dr. Destiny had dared to go after Wally. Every one of the Flash’s villains knew Wally was off limits. Only those with a death wish dared to even considered trying to use his nephew against him. Dr. Destiny was quickly going to learn exactly why that was so.

What he was about to do wasn’t vengeance, though he would certainly enjoy it; what he was about to do was a carefully calculated act of Bat-justice. He would use just the amount of force needed to encourage Dr. Destiny to release the boys and then he would stop. 

Once he was at the coordinates it wasn’t difficult to find Dr. Destiny. He obviously thought that the League had remained at the same level they had been at when they fought him last. Unfortunately for him, they had only improved.

The building shook as the Flash slammed Dr. Destiny into the wall of the warehouse, Dr. Destiny’s face shifting into an expression of pain and shock.

“How-”

“Let them go.” The Flash ordered, his voice scarily similar to Batman’s. 

“Let who go?” Dr. Destiny asked lazily.

The Flash shoved Dr. Destiny higher against the wall, “You know exactly who I’m talking about.”

Dr. Destiny shrugged, “You’ll have to be more specific.”

The Flash roared and hurled Dr. Destiny across the room, barely giving him time to crash into some crates before he was on him again, throwing him to the other side of the room. In the back of his mind the Flash heard the quiet hum that signaled the arrival of the Batmobile, but his anger quickly pushed the fact aside as he continued to convince Dr. Destiny.

It didn’t take Batman long to find them and he quickly took in the situation. Dr. Destiny looked tiny under the Flash’s angry form. Every pore of the Flash’s body vibrated with pure rage, and the bruises decorated Dr. Destiny’s face proved that the Flash’s anger had consumed him.

It was rare for the Flash to become angry, let alone reach this level of rage, but all bets were off when it came to Kid Flash. The Flash was extremely protective his protege and didn’t allow anyone to lay a hand on him. The villain who was unfortunate enough to land a decent hit on Kid Flash always learned to regret it. His revenge was always quick and merciless, and was the reason every member of the league knew how blessed they were to have the Flash on their side.

“Let them go!” The Flash ordered, and though Dr. Destiny flinched, he tried to hold his ground.

“Or what? You’ll-” 

He never got to finish as the Flash grabbed him by the collar and took off. Batman’s cape hardly having time to stop swaying before they were back again, Dr. Destiny vomiting onto the warehouse floor.

Batman knew they were approaching dangerous territory. While he approved of the Flash’s interrogation techniques, he knew that the speeds the Flash was putting Dr. Destiny through could be deadly to humans. They needed to end this now, or Dr. Destiny might not live to regret his actions.

“Let. Them. Go.” The Flash growled, and Dr. Destiny looked to Batman for help.

For the first time in existence, Batman found himself playing Good Cop, “I’d do as he says. Lightspeed can be deadly.”

“You can’t kill me!” Dr. Destiny shouted.

“We shouldn’t, but we can.” 

Dr. Destiny looked between the two superheroes and tried to find a way out of his current situation, “Let me go or I’ll kill them!” He finally threatened and immediately found his airway cut off.

The Flash’s arm dug deeper into Dr. Destiny’s throat as he spoke, “If you kill them I’ll make sure you live just long enough to regret it.” Releasing the pressure on Dr. Destiny’s through the Flash growled, “This is your last chance. Let. Them. Go.”

When there was no immediate answer the Flash lunged forward and Dr. Destiny flinched back, “Ok! Ok! I’ll let them go!”

He closed his eyes, mentally released the boys from their anguish, and hid behind Batman, “I let them go! Now keep this Madman away from me!”

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

The fires were out, and the city had turned cold. Cold ash blew through the streets, turning everything grey. Wally hadn’t saved anyone, he wasn’t able to save a single person, and now the city was silent. In a way, it was worse than the screaming. The silence allowed the echo of his failure to ring throughout the city.

He wasn’t running anymore, there was no point. He sat in the ashes of City Hall shivering in the cold the fire had left behind. He could see bodies, but he didn’t look too closely; he could hear his failure, he didn’t need to see it as well. They were all dead because he wasn’t fast enough.

He was never fast enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully a new chapter will be up soon! Please tell me what you think!


	4. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman and Flash continue to try to save their partners.

Dick wasn’t afraid of heights. He never flinched, never trembled, never blinked when it came to jumping off buildings or throwing himself so he was plummeting to the ground. So he didn’t understand why he could move. 

He was at the edge of a building, the Gotham nightlife buzzing below him, with a tightrope stretched across the gap between his building and the one across the street. His muscles were frozen, palms covered in sweat, and his breath kept catching in his throat.

On the ground below him, he could see two bodies surrounded by an ominous circle of red. He realized he was shaking, and he tried to stop it, but he couldn’t. His body was beyond his control, under the spell of some strange emotion.

Perched precariously on the tightrope stood Bruce, texting on his phone. Every movement he made caused the rope to sway and Bruce’s chances of falling increase. Dick wanted to scream out to him, to beg him to come back to the building, back to safety, but the words wouldn’t leave his throat.

Dick wanted to go out and get him, but he couldn’t convince his body to move and the thought caused the tremors to increase and the strange emotion to take further control of his body. 

Dick had never been afraid, but now his fear was preventing him from saving the one paternal figure left in his life.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Batman put his hand to his com “Canary. What are Robin and Kid Flash’s status?”

There was a moment of silence before her response, “No change. Have you found Dr. Destiny?”

Batman didn’t respond, instead choosing to shove Dr. Destiny against the wall with a batarang at his throat. “This is your last chance. Let them go.”

Batman could feel the Flash vibrating in rage behind him, and knew that if the boys weren’t released soon then Dr. Destiny wouldn’t live long enough to pay for his crimes.

“I did!” Dr. Destiny wheezed, “I let them go!”

“Liar!” The Flash yelled, and Batman wasn’t fast enough to prevent Dr. Destiny from being ripped from his grasp. Dr. Destiny was thrown across the room and crashed into the wall, not having time to hit the floor before the Flash was on him again.

“Flash!” Batman yelled, “Don’t kill him!”

“I won’t,” The Flash growled, “But he’ll soon wish I would.”

Batman knew it was time to call in backup. Batman couldn’t, without extensive preplanning, take down the Flash by himself. There was only one League member who could stop the Flash, and it was time for Batman to call him down. Pushing a button on his utility belt, Batman watched as the Flash chucked Dr. Destiny across the warehouse.

As much as he loved seeing Dr. Destiny being punished for daring to harm their partners, killing him would not help them free them. Luckily it wasn’t long till backup arrived and imposed itself between the Flash and Dr. Destiny. 

“Enough, Flash,” Superman stated.

Lightning flew around the Flash’s form, his body sliding in and out of focus and he faced Superman, “It won’t be enough until he lets them go!”

“And if you kill him he can’t do that,” Superman pointed out logically.

The Flash growled, the floor under his feet cracking as his vibrations increased, “How will we convince him to let them go then?”

Superman was saved from answering by Black Canary, “Batman, Flash. They’re calling for you.”

With that the Flash took off, grabbing Batman as he ran, and leaving Superman alone with Dr. Destiny. Superman sighed, glanced at Dr. Destiny who was staring at him with a mixture of awe and fear, and cracked his knuckles.

“Now, let's talk about you letting Robin and Kid Flash go.”

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

As much as Batman usually hated traveling with the Flash, in this moment he was grateful. Dick was tossing and turning in his hospital bed muttering softly, begging for someone to move. The Flash was already with Wally, trying in vain to soothe him. 

Batman made his way over to Dick, sitting next to him on the bed and slid his hand through his hair. When that failed to soothe him, he took Dick hand in his own, trying to ignore how small it was. Dick was so capable and brave that sometimes Batman forgot how young he was, how small he was.

Neither boy was settling, still trapped in the hell created by their own minds.

“What are we going to do?” The Flash asked softly.

Batman didn’t answer, and eventually Black Canary filled the silence, “If all else fails we will wait until J’ohn arrives.”

“We can’t just wait!” The Flash snapped, unmoving from Wally’s side, “We can’t just leave them!”

“We won’t.” Batman interjected, holding Dick’s hand tighter in his own, “We will get them out of this and Dr. Destiny will pay for even thinking of harming our partners.” 

The Flash attempted to smile at him, but it never quite fully formed. Once again they fell into a silence only broken by their partners cries of fear.

It was killing Bruce to have to sit and watch his partner, his son, suffer like this.

“Bruce...Bruce…” Dick kept muttering pleadingly and all Bruce could do was wipe his tears they fell down his face.

He felt powerless, the most he had felt since he first put on the mask. He became Batman, so he wouldn’t have to watch people he loved suffer, and now it was all he could do. He held Dick’s hand tightly and muttered reassurances that Dick didn’t seem to hear.

Batman couldn’t tell how long he had been trying to soothe Dick when Superman entered.

“He’s in a holding cell,”

“Is he talking?” Batman demanded.

Superman shook his head, “He keeps claiming that he let them go.”

Batman growled and stormed out of the room, his cape swishing dramatically behind him. He could hear Superman trailing after him, but the Flash remained with Wally and Dick. He was pleased, he needed someone to stay with Dick so he could do what he needed to do.

He was going to get Dr. Destiny to let the boys go. While the Flash could be intimidating, no one was more terrifying than Batman. 

YJYJYJ YJYJYJ

The interview room was dark. Normally they were brightly lit, blinding even, but that didn’t fit Batman’s style. He worked best in the dark.

Dr. Destiny was nervous, and Batman could see the sheen of sweat covering his face. He had been sweating since he entered, and Batman was sure the abnormally low temperature was beginning to get to him now. It was only when he began to shiver that Batman spoke.

“Let them go.”

Dr. Destiny jumped, his eyes whirling to race on Batman, and Batman could practically hear his heart rate increase.

“I did!” Dr. Destiny was quick to say, “I let them go back at the warehouse!”

“There no use in lying to me-”

“I’m not lying!” Dr. Destiny pleaded, and inwardly Batman paused.

Dr. Destiny was a coward. The fact he had resisted the Flash for so long was unusual, but not beyond his usual amount of bravado. This was different, he showed no signs of lying and only signs of fear.

“Why aren’t they waking up then?” He eventually asked coldly.

“I don’t know!” Dr. Destiny cried, his hands coming to grip his hair. “I let them go! They should have woken up almost immediately!”

“Why wouldn’t they have?”

“I don’t know! But the only thing that could be trapping them now is their own minds!” Dr. Destiny yelled, trying to appease Batman.

Batman stood, staring at Dr. Destiny for a moment, before gliding out the door, his cape flowing behind him. 

Trapped in their own minds Batman thought as he began to head back to the Dick and Wally. If that was true, Batman hated to admit that they might have to wait for J’ohn to return.

YJYJYJ YJYJYJ

Once with the boys, Batman quickly explained the situation to the Flash.

“We have to wait for J’ohn to get us into their minds to let them go,” Batman concluded watching the Flash’s face darken, then brighten almost immediately.

“Me’gan!” He explained happily, “She can link us to Wally and Dick so we can lead them out!” 

“She’s not ready-”

“She’s our only choice!” The Flash protested.

“The simulation.” Batman stated, a further explanation unneeded.

Batman could see the conflict on Flash’s face before it settled, “We don’t have a choice. We either use Me’gan or leave the boys in their own personal Hells.”

“Go get her.” With a rush of wind, the Flash was gone, off to get their only hope.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Bruce hadn’t moved, and neither had Dick. His throat was raw from trying and failing to call out to Bruce, and his muscled ached for endlessly trying to overcome his fear and go get Bruce. The wind was picking up and Bruce’s position only grew more precarious.

He wanted to move, wanted to save him but he was too afraid and bound by his fear. 

He had always tried to be brave, but now his fear was going to kill Bruce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the long wait for this chapter! Please leave a comment to tell me what you think of it!


	5. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Bruce go into their partner's minds to save them from their nightmares.

Me’gan was nervous. Since the training exercise, she had very little confidence in her powers and now her powers were the only thing that could save Robin and Kid Flash.

“We should really wait for my Uncle J’ohn.” She said hesitantly, and the Flash shook his head.

“He won’t be back in time. We aren’t going to leave them any longer.”

“But-”

“You can do this.” Batman cut in, and Me’gan had no other choice but to nod.

“Lay down next to them,” Me’gan ordered softly and the superheroes quickly complied, “I can get you to where they are, but I won’t be able to help you past that. I…I don’t have enough control.” She admitted hesitantly, and both the Flash and Batman nodded, “You just need to convince them to wake up. When they wake up, you will as well.” 

Batman and Flash nodded again and Me’gan took a deep breath, held her hands out, and connected the four minds lying in front of her.

“Good luck,” She whispered as she sent the mentors to rescue their trapped apprentices.

YJYJYJYJYJ

When the Flash opened his eyes, he wasn’t surprised to see he was in Central City. He knew his partner and his fears well, and arriving in Central City was the furthest thing from a surprise. The ash that covered the remains of the city, while saddening and mildly terrifying in what they represented, wasn’t surpassing either. 

Few knew it, but Wally had always been most effected by disasters involving fires. It was impossible to tell before or during the disaster, but the aftermath always made it obvious. Fires were a common factor in Kid Flash’s nightmares, although they usually weren’t on this grand of a scale. The Flash hated to think of what horrors his nephews mind had forced him into.

The Flash took off to look to his nephew. According to what Me’gan had said, Kid Flash should be close. However, the disaster that was Central City made it difficult to see anything, let alone his partner. It was on his third sweep of the area when he finally saw a flash of color. He paused, and when the color was examined closer it was revealed to be his partner.

Kid Flash knelt in the middle of what once was City Hall, the remains dwarfing him. The bright colors of his uniform shone through the ash that covered him, but his hair had become a melancholy color that the Flash was sad to say represent his partner well at that moment. Every part of him screamed defeat: the slumped shoulders, the hanging head, the fist clenched into his pants.

The Flash slowly walked over and knelt next to his partner. His cowl was pushed back, and Barry Allen placed a hand on his nephew’s shoulder, “Hey kiddo,”

Kid Flash jumped, quickly turning to assess the threat, and pushed his cowl back when he realized who it was. Wally threw himself at his Uncle, knocking both of them into the dirt in his desperation to confirm that his Uncle was alive and here.

Wally babbled, most of it buried into Barry chest and not understandable, but that was ok. Barry knew that the initial babble usually, even if auditable, would make no sense to anyone but Wally. However, if allowed to continue, the babble would help Wally eventually calm down long enough to explain why he was afraid.

Barry held Wally close as his nephew babbled, willing to wait until Wally was ready to talk to him. Ten minutes, then twenty passed, but Barry knew he had to wait. Any attempt to interrupt the babbling would only make Wally more reluctant to talk about what was bothering him. He began to run his hand through Wally’s hair, half listening to the babble pouring out of Wally’s mouth, but paying more attention to Wally’s physical state.

As far as he could tell Wally wasn’t injured. Not that it would matter if he was, Barry realized. Everything around him felt so real it was hard to remember that he was inside Wally’s head. He wasn’t sure what he would have to do to convince Wally that this was a dream. The world Wally’s nightmare had created was realistic in every aspect he had seen so far, so there wasn’t a logical way to show that this world wasn’t real.

And he knew that he would have to prove to Wally that this wasn’t real. Barry always had to prove to Wally that his nightmares weren’t real, even when they weren’t trapped inside of his head. Usually, all he had to do was point out the discrepancies in the dream and the real world. However, that wasn’t possible here, and neither was the other method of showing Wally his friends and family alive and well. 

Wally’s babble was beginning to slow, and eventually Wally pulled himself away from Barry’s chest. The tears running down his face were quickly wiped away, and Wally looked up at Barry.

“Hey, Uncle Barry,” He muttered softly, and Barry smiled.

“Hey Kiddo,” From there all Barry had to do was wait. Wally always filled the silence.

Wally lasted longer than normal, but eventually he whispered, “I’m sorry,” Barry waited once again, and after a couple minutes Wally continued, voice breaking, “I couldn’t save anyone. I’m sorry,”

Barry hugged Wally close, running a hand through his hair, “There wasn’t anyone to save.”

“But I heard-”

“It wasn’t real,” He could feel Wally pushing against his chest, and he held him tight, unwilling to let him go until he had finished talking, “None of this was real. It’s just a bad dream.”

Wally finally managed to wiggle himself free and stared at his uncle, his eyes wide in disbelief. “They were screaming. I saw the bodies!”

“And none of it was real. Dr. Destiny-”

“Did he start the fire?” Wally demanded, surging to his feet, “Did he?” Wally demanded once again.

Barry remained sitting, Wally’s anger after a nightmare far from uncommon. Wally hated being afraid and would often use anger to replace emotions he didn’t want to deal with. “No, he didn’t start the fire.”

Wally deflated, sitting across from Uncle Barry, “Than who did?”

Barry sighed, “No one.”

“Then how did it start?”

Barry sighed again, “There was no fire.”

“How can you say that? It killed everyone!” Once again Wally stood, and this time Barry had no choice but to stand as well to prevent Wally from running off.

He grabbed Wally’s shoulders tightly, forcing him to look at Barry, “Dr. Destiny forced you into your worst nightmare. None of this is real!”

“But how do you know that?!” Wally shouted, “I’ve seen the bodies! Heard their screams! Everyone died because I wasn’t fast enough!”

Barry knew that they had finally come to the heart of the issue. Wally had always been afraid of not being fast enough, not being able to save someone. Barry didn’t know where Wally had gotten the idea, but Wally believed that they speed they were blessed with meant they could save everyone. Barry, through painful experience, knew this wasn’t true and he had tried multiple times to pass this lesson onto Wally. Sadly, it never seemed to stick and Wally fear of not being able to save someone manifested itself in an obsession over his speed.

Kid Flash wasn’t as fast as the Flash, and while there were millions of reasons that could be, Wally viewed it as a personal fault. Combining that with his desperation to save everyone, Barry couldn’t believe he hadn’t guessed what Wally’s greatest fear was. To Wally failure to save someone was based on his lesser speed, which meant a fear of not being fast enough. 

“It was a nightmare, Wally,”

“But how do you know! I wasn’t fast enough and you weren’t there!”

Barry knew then how to prove to Wally that he was trapped in this nightmare. 

“Exactly,” Barry ignored Wally’s confused expression and continued, “This fire you saw was big enough to destroy the entire city. Why wouldn’t I be there?”

“I-” Wally began but Barry continued.

“I know we let you form your own team, but do you honestly believe that I would leave you to handle and fire this size on your own?”

“No but-”

“But what?” Barry pressed, “Even if I was unable to come, some member of the League would have come in my place.” Barry could see the war waging on Wally’s face and noticed that landscape around them wavering in and out of focus. He prayed that was a sign Wally was waking up and finished, “That’s why we have the League.”

Wally trembled, the area surrounding them fading into an indistinguishable gray mass. 

“But-” He whispered, and Barry loosened his grip on his shoulders and pulled Wally’s head up until his eyes met Barry’s.

“It was just a dream, kiddo.” And with that the entire landscape faded into nothing. 

YJYJYJYJYJ

Bruce slowly opened his eyes, quickly taking in his surroundings. Gotham city loomed below him, but instead of standing on the edge of a rooftop like he was accustomed too, he was balanced precariously on a tightrope. He phone was held in his hand, half of a text message written, and he was in a normal suit. He could tell that his belt wasn’t hidden somewhere in his suit and, though no one would ever be able to tell, it made him nervous.

From the corner of his eye he could see Dick perched on the edge of a building right next to the end of the tightrope. He was shaking, and Bruce could see his mouth moving but couldn’t hear the words that were coming out. It was obvious that Dick was terrified, and Bruce wasn’t sure what to do. However, he knew that whatever he did, he needed to get off the tightrope first.

“Robin!” He called, and Dick’s head immediately snapped up, eyes drilling into Bruce.

“Bruce!” He cried, making a small motion forward that was quickly aborted as the shaking increased, “Bruce get down from there!”

Bruce tried to shuffle towards Dick, but stopped the moment that he felt his balance waver. He had no interest in falling and, despite the fact this was a dream, he knew Dick would never recover from seeing him plummet to his death.

“Robin, throw me your belt,” He ordered, and once again Bruce saw Dick start to come forwards but quickly stopped.

“I…I can’t,” Dick admitted shakily, shame coloring his words.

“You can,” Bruce stated forcefully, but he could tell that Dick didn’t believe him. He was beginning to shake even more and was slowly moving further away from the edge. It became obvious to Bruce that he would have to take a different approach. He couldn’t treat Dick like Robin right now. Dick needed to be treated like Dick, the young ward of Bruce Wane. 

“Dick,” He began, and Dick quickly looked up in surprised before he stared at the drop below, and the two figures in the red circle Bruce just noticed, “Dick look at me.” He ordered, and Dick slowly dragged his eyes up until he was staring at Bruce.

“What are you afraid of?” Bruce asked softly, and Dick’s trembling increased.

“You’re…You’re going to fall.” He said softly. Bruce didn’t speak, sensing there was more to be said and after a moment, Dick continued, “and… and I’m so scared that I can’t move, and because of that I can’t save you.”

Bruce felt his heart drop, he had always known that Dick had a fear of him leaving, but he didn’t realize that his fear extended to being afraid to be afraid. He knew that he would have to take more steps to fix this once he had saved Dick from this dream, but for now he knew what he had to do.

“I’m not going to fall,” Bruce said confidently.

Dick stared at him in confusion, “But you don’t have your belt!”

Bruce nodded, “But you have yours.” Dick shook his head rapidly, his trembling increasing, but Bruce didn’t let him protest, “You have yours, and that is all we need.”

“But I can’t stop shaking!” Dick cried, and Bruce hated to see tears forming in his eyes. 

“Yes, you can. Close your eyes and take a deep breath,” Dick complied, and Bruce had him keep breathing until the trembling had decreased.

“Now, reach into your belt and grab your grappling hook,” Dick complied, his trembling momentarily increasing before decreasing again, “Now throw it to me.”

“I-”

“You can. Take a deep breath, and throw it.” Bruce ordered, preparing himself to catch the end. Dick took a deep breath and threw it, Bruce catching the end. Using Dick as an anchor Bruce quickly walked across the tightrope the rooftop. Dick still had his eyes tightly shut, and Bruce lightly gripped his shoulder and led him away from the edge.

Bruce was quickly pulled into a hug that he readily returned. Dick was still shaking, but Bruce was please to see that it was slowly settling down. They didn’t speak, content to be safe in the other presentence, but Bruce did have a mission to complete. He needed to wake Dick up. 

“Dick, you need to wake up.”

“Wake up?” Dick asked confused.

Bruce nodded, “Everything that has happened was a dream, a nightmare caused by Dr. Destiny-”

“The crazy guy from when you just started the League?” Dick interrupted, and Bruce nodded, glad to see Dick slowly returning to normal.

“He was trying to get revenge by forcing you and Kid Flash into your worst nightmares-”

Dicks trembling started again as he exclaimed, “Why did he go after Wally? You were the one who beat him! Are we going-”

Bruce pulled Dick into his chest, effectively stopping his questions, “The Flash is going after Wally. And you will both be ok if you just wake up.”

“But I’m still afraid,” Dick admitted softly, face buried in Bruce’s chest, “How can I leave the nightmare if I’m still afraid?”

Bruce held Dick tighter, sharing the lesson he had struggled to learn himself, “It’s ok to be afraid.”

“But you’re not! You’re never afraid,”

Bruce shook his head, his hand beginning to run through Dick’s hair, “I was afraid when I heard Dr. Destiny had gone after you.”

“But-”

“There is no shame in being afraid of something.”

“I froze! I couldn’t do anything!” Dick yelled, pulling himself from Bruce’s hold.

Bruce smiled, “But you never have before. You’ve been afraid before, but you kept going. Just because you couldn’t move in your nightmares doesn’t mean that you’ll freeze in the real world.”

Dick trembled, “But what if I do? What if I freeze and someone dies?”

“You won’t.”

“How can you know that?”

Bruce smiled once again, “If that was going to happen it would have happened by now. You’ve been a superhero for too long, you’ve learned to handle your fear.”

“Then why couldn’t I handle it here?” Dick whispered, sitting on the edge of the building.

Bruce sat next to him, his arm going on Dick’s shoulders, “Because this is a nightmare.”

Dick’s trembling finally stopped, “I think I’m ready to wake up now.” He said softly, and the world around them faded into a white light.

YJYJYJYJYJ

In the Cave’s Med Bay Batman, Robin, Kid Flash, and the Flash all opened their eyes, Me’gan lowering her hands as the connection between them was ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is coming to a close! Please take a moment to comment and tell me what you think!


	6. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys deal with what Dr. Destiny did to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter! Thank you so much for staying with this story until the end!

Both sidekicks bolted upright, scanning the room for any possible threats. M’gann moved towards the boys, but froze when Kid Flash went to run and Robin reached for his utility belt. She quickly held up her hands in a pacifying gesture, worried she was going to have to fight one of the boys. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to.

The Flash placed his hands on his nephews shoulders, a restraint and a comfort, while Batman stepped into Robin’s line of view, reminding him where he was. Kid Flash and Robin relaxed, knowing they were safe in the presence of the mentors. However, despite the acknowledged safety, both boys were still trembling. M’gann quietly let herself out, sensing that there was nothing more she could do to help.

For a moment the room was silent, but as usual, one of the Flashes broke the silence, “Hey Rob, did Dr. Destiny get you too?”

“Yeah,” Robin muttered, staring around the room as if he couldn’t believe it was real, “Totally not ‘whelming.”

Wally quietly laughed, the sound obviously forced, “Dude,” Once again silence reigned, no one quite sure what to do now.

It was eerily similar to the aftermath of the simulation, but both mentors knew that the recovery from this attack would most likely be worse. The simulation had been a series of terrible events, but this nightmare had been their worst fears. Both boys would need to have many sessions with Black Canary to even begin to recover. But, they were physically unharmed and awake, and their mentors took a moment to appreciate that.

“How did he get in?” Wally eventually asked.

“A malfunctioning Zeta tube,” Batman replied, “It has been fixed.”

“I thought Dr. D was in Bel-Rev?” Dick commented.

The Flash nodded, “He escaped, but Superman has put him back behind bars.”

The boys nodded and a minute later, Black Canary came in to run some scans to determine they were physically healthy, as well as guess where they were mentally. When her tests were complete, she sent the boys to the cave’s main room to watch TV while she talked to their mentors. Surprisingly, they obeyed without argument, and Black Canary hated to think of what that indicated. When enough time had passed for the boys to be fully involved in whatever TV show they were watching, she turned to their mentors. 

She sighed, “Both boys are traumatized. I won’t know how much until I have the chance to talk to them.”

“Just give us a time,” Barry ordered and Bruce nodded. Both of their partners would be talking to Black Canary, whether they wanted to or not.

Black Canary sighed again, “I’d recommend that you take them home and make the rest of the week an easy one. No patrols.” Both of the mentors stiffened at that and she quickly amended her statement, “One or two easy patrols. Let them burn off some energy and them get them back home.”

They nodded, and after a moment the Flash asked, “Can we take them home now?”

Black canary nodded, “Bring them here tomorrow and I’ll talk with them.” 

The mentors nodded and left to find their partners. They found the boys sitting next to each other on the couch, arms and shoulders touching. The boys close proximity was far from surprising, they often comforted each-other after rough missions. 

They turned as their mentors walked in and Robin stood, Kid Flash slowly echoing his movement. Batman wordlessly began to walk towards the zeta tubes and Robin followed, throwing a quiet “Bye, KF.” Over his shoulder. 

YJYJYJYJYJ

“You ready, Kid?” The Flash asked gently, and Kid Flash nodded standing and following his mentor out of the cave. 

The run home was silent, an unusual occurrence for this team. Iris was waiting for them at home, and she slowly enveloped Wally in a hug. He hugged her tight, burying his face in her shoulder before pulling away. He smiled at her before his disappeared into his room, the door clicking shut behind him.

“What happened?” Iris asked softly, her voice free of judgement. She could tell by their body language that something had happened, and Barry hadn’t called her to let her know what. She knew however, that most of the time Barry couldn’t call her when Wally got hurt. 

Barry sighed, burying his face in his wife’s hair, “Dr. Destiny, you remember him?”

Iris nodded, wrapping her arms around her husband, “Yes,”

“He broke out of bel-rev. He wanted revenge, and he went after Kid and Robin to get it.” 

Iris tensed, took a deep breath, and forcefully relaxed. “But they’re ok now?”

“Physically,” 

Iris sighed, squeezing Barry, “I’m assuming Wally is going to talk to Black Canary tomorrow?”

Barry nodded against Iris’ head, “Yeah.” He slumped. He was so tired, and while the trouble wasn’t over yet, knowing his nephew was safe and in his room allowed him to relax. 

“Let’s go to bed,” his wife suggested and Barry nodded, allowing her to lead him up the stairs and to their room. 

They briefly stopped by Wally’s room, wishing him a goodnight and giving him a hug each, before retiring to their own.

“You think he will go to sleep anytime soon?” Iris asked her husband softly. 

Barry shook his head, thinking back on the brief part of the nightmare he had seen, “I don’t think he’ll willingly go to bed for a long time,”

YJYJYJJYJYJYJ

In the manor, Dick and Bruce sat across from each-other, food growing cold on their plates. The room was silent, the food untouched, and Bruce waited. Bruce was not much of a talker, under any circumstance, but Dick was. So he waited, knowing that eventually Dick would speak.

“So, M’gann let you in our heads?” Bruce nodded, “That’s good. She’s seemed a little overwhelmed,” Once again Bruce nodded and continued to wait.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce knew now he could speak.

“Don’t apologize,” 

“But-”

“Fear is nothing to be sorry for.”

“But it controlled me!”

“In a dream,” 

Dick fell silent, obviously not happy, but unwilling to argue any further. He took his fork, finally starting to eat and Bruce did as well, silence once again reigning. Dinner was finished quickly, and Bruce and Dick went their separate ways.

Bruce made it to his room and waited five minutes before he left again. He went down the hall and to the clock that opened the Batcave. He grabbed some motion sensors and cameras from the batcave and made his way back into the manner.

He walked to Dicks room, keeping his footsteps silent to keep from alerting his protege. Bruce put the cameras and motions sensors so that any movement approaching the door or hallway would be noted and recorded.

Once they were all set, Bruce made his way back to his own room. He opened his computer and entered the passcode that allowed him to view the cameras. Keeping one eye on the computer, he began to plan upgrades for the caves security. With his new upgrades no one would enter or leave the cave without him knowing.

He was halfway into upgrading the caves security when Alfred entered his room. Alfred handed Bruce a mug of coffee and waited for a moment before he asked “Is the young master alright, Sir?”

“He will be,” 

“Will the young master be requiring coffee as well?”

“Probably,”

“Hot chocolate and Batcookies it is, Sir.”

Bruce smiled as Alfred may his way out, mindlessly nodding when Alfred asked him too, “Try not stay up too late, Sir,”

YJYJYJYJYJ

The next couple of months were difficult for the boys. They attended daily therapy sessions with Black Canary, but that didn’t stop the constant nightmares. Neither boy was able to get a full nights sleep, and because of that they were not allowed to go on patrol. This caused the boys to be even more tense because they had no way to blow off steam.

However, after a couple months, things began to get better. The nightmares became less frequent, and this allowed the boys to go on more patrols, which allowed them to blow of steam, which allowed them to sleep better. As more time passed, the trama Dr. Destiny put them through eventually faded until it was bearable. By the end of the year, they rarely thought about it, and the only remaining evidence was the upgraded security systems in the cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you think and anything you might want to see from me in the future!


End file.
